CN0262: Low Noise Analog MEMS Microphone and Preamp with Compression and Noise Gating

CIRCUIT FUNCTION AND BENEFITS
This circuit, shown in Figure 1, interfaces an analog MEMS microphone to a microphone preamp. The ADMP504 consists of a MEMS microphone element and an output amplifier. Analog Devices’ MEMS microphones have a high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and a flat wideband frequency response, making them an excellent choice for high performance, low power applications.

The SSM2167 is a low voltage, low noise mono microphone preamp that is a good choice for use in low power audio signal chains. This preamp includes built-in compression and noise gating, which gives it an advantage for this function over using just an op amp in the preamp circuit. Compressing the dynamic range of the microphone signal can reduce the peak signal levels and add additional gain to low level signals. Noise gating attenuates the level of signals below a certain threshold, so that only desired signals, such as speech, are amplified, and noise in the output signal is reduced. These features help to improve the intelligibility of the voice signal picked up by the microphone.

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